Racism in the Loon Essay - 942 Words

â€Å"The Loons†: Social Racism Kills a Metis Girl Margaret Laurence’s short story â€Å"The Loons† from A Bird in the House has proven highly controversial as an example of racist literature. The Loons, is a representation of racial separation in mid-western Canada in the early 1900s. Here, Margaret Laurence uses setting and characterization to show how severe the prejudice of white people can be towards half breeds, after the period of new colonization. Piquette Tonnere, protagonist, who intends to fight those prejudices eventually, dies, leaving readers surprised to observe the cruelty of the society. The tale â€Å"The Loons† illustrates how racism exists in the guise of good intentions, intolerance and stereotyping. When Vanessas†¦show more content†¦Being ignorant about aboriginals, Vanessa has preconceived ideas about Picquettes heritage. It seemed to me that Picquette must be in some way a daughter of the forest, a kind of junior prophetess of the wilds, who might impart me, if I took the right approach......., or whatever it said in Hiawatha. (Laurence 419) Vanessa is suggesting that just because Picquette is an aboriginal, she must be a skilled tracker and hunter like legendary literary character Hiawatha. Piquette senses this, and she refuses to open up to Vanessa, by rejecting her friendly act. Vanessa immediately decides that â€Å"as an Indian, Piquette was a dead loss,† when she realizes that Piquette has no â€Å"Indian† secrets to share with her; she is confused by Piquette and ultimately rejects her. Alienated Piquette acts indifferently to her surroundings, and only once in the story her heartfelt feelings have been expressed: â€Å"Listen, you wanna know something, Vanessa?...Your dad was the only person in Manawaka that ever done anything good to me† (Laurence 422). Coming from Piquette, who keeps her emotions hidden, just like the loons who cry only at night, her words mean a lot: they show to the readers, Piquette’s loneliness and isolation. Grown up woman Piquette wants acceptance in white dominating society. She attempts to escape poverty and alienation by becoming a seductive woman to snare a man assuming marriage can be the only avenue of escape. In her make up and skin tight skirt,Show MoreRelatedShort Story Essay on Canadian Racial Diversity (Citing Akua Nuten, the Mystery of a White Man, and the Loons)783 Words   |  4 Pagescriminals made his claim seemingly powerful as it was truthful that there are many criminals who are White but really, it is just as easy to come up with a list of Asians, Blacks, and Latinos who are lawbreakers, rapists, and law rigging judges. In â€Å"The Loons†, the half-breed girl Piquette Tonnerre spent a month with the MacLeods, a Caucasian family on a holiday. 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